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MARRONE CHOSE A DIFFERENT STRONG SAFETY SIX PICKS BEFORE WE TRADED NEXT YEAR'S THIRD ROUND PICK TO GET SHAMARKO. That 4.105 pick is quite bothersome in my mind. It just doesn't make sense to me, unless there is something about Shamarko that his former coach DIDN'T like about him that we don't know about.

Sure, Duke Williams is 2 inches taller than Shamarko (5'11" vs. 5'9"), but the Shark is 10 lbs heavier (203 vs. 213), runs the 40 yard dash .11 seconds faster (4.48 vs. 4.37), had 15 more lifts of 225 lbs on the bench (13 vs. 28...MORE THAN DOUBLED HIM), jumped 3 inches higher in the vertical (37.5 vs. 40.5), and jumped 7 inches farther in the broad (10'6" vs. 11'1"). NFLDraftScout.com (one of the most respected draft sites on the internet; CBS Sports and USA Today use them) had Shamarko projected as a 3rd or 4th round prospect, with Duke Williams projected as a 5th round prospect. It's not as if Duke Williams is a ball-hawk either (he has 1 INT this season, 1 INT last season, and 2 INT's the year before that). I can't wrap my mind around why in the world that Marrone would take someone like Duke Williams over a known quantity like Shamarko Thomas at the same position. It bothers me.

That's interesting. Wonder how many former college coaches end up drafting their own players? They may not be the ones making the picks just yet and they may want to avoid some sort of nepotism.

Another way to look at it - if Marrone picks Shark and he doesn't translate to the NFL, it would look bad for him because he had so much experience with him. So maybe he thinks being short is a risk or something else is a risk at the next level that he doesn't want to take. Because if he endorses Shark and it doesn't work, it's a little egg on his face. So going in another direction with who the scouts like may just be politically easier.